April 13, 2007

Thomas More sweeps Wolverines

GROVE CITY, Pa. -- The Grove City College baseball team fell to 10-7 overall and 2-4 in the Presidents' Athletic Conference as visiting Thomas More took both ends of a PAC doubleheader with Grove City. Thomas More won the opener 13-3, then pulled out a 10-7 win in the second game.

Wolverine pitchers issued 11 walks in the opener as Thomas More scored its 13 runs on just seven hits. Junior Chris Bowser (Stow, Ohio/Stow) took the loss for Grove City, allowing five earned runs in 5 1/3 innings of work. He struck out four and allowed five hits.

Grove City fell behind 4-0 early but trimmed the lead to 4-3 in the bottom of the fourth. Junior catcher Raymer Mertz (Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler) cracked a run-scoring single while later in the inning, senior first baseman Dan Bartkowiak (Fredonia, N.Y./Fredonia) drove in two runs with a single. However, Thomas More (16-4, 9-2 PAC) answered with two runs in the fifth and four more in the sixth.

In the nightcap, Grove City collected a dozen hits but could not hang onto an early 4-2 lead.

Grove City forged a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the first on RBI singles from junior DH Pat Messner (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny) and sophomore shortstop Ben Wilson (Mechanicsville, Va./Lee-Davis). Junior center fielder Brian Moran (Columbia, Md./Chapelgate) then gave Grove City a 4-2 lead in the second inning with a two-run double.

However, the Saints rebounded with a three-run third inning. Thomas More then took the lead for good with four runs in the top of the fifth on back-to-back-to-back home runs from Dan Buchwald, Pat Berndsen and Marc Price. 

Senior Justin Miller (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township) took the loss for Grove City, allowing six runs in four-plus innings.

Wilson went 3-for-3 while sophomore first baseman Brad Stombaugh (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon) singled and scored twice.

Grove City will host Thomas More in a single nine-inning game at 11 a.m. Saturday.

First Game Box Score            Second Game Box Score

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